Former Idaho and Nevada head coach Chris Tormey begins his second season on the Warrior coaching staff. Tormey, who has more than 28 years of collegiate coaching experience, will coach the special teams unit as well as assist with the safeties.
In his first season with the Warriors in 2009, safety Mana Silva led the Western Athletic Conference with six interceptions, while Spencer Smith and Richard Torres had one a piece. The safeties accounted for eight of the team’s 12 picks. In addition, UH ranked second nationally in punt return defense.
Tormey, who has nine years of head coaching experience at current WAC schools Idaho and Nevada, was most recently the linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator for Washington, a position he held from 2004-08.
Prior to that, he coached at Nevada from 2000-03, where he guided the Wolf Pack into the WAC. In four seasons as head coach, he compiled a 16-31 record. Each year, his teams improved its win total, culminating in a 6-6 mark during his final season. That year, Tormey led the Wolf Pack to a 28-17 victory over Washington in Seattle.
From 1995-99, Tormey was the head coach at Idaho, coaching the Division I-AA Vandals to four winning seasons in five years. He compiled a 33-23 record and led Idaho to its first bowl appearance, a Humanitarian Bowl victory over Southern Mississippi in 1998. That year, he was named the Big West Conference’s Coach of the Year and led the Vandals to a 9-3 record which included an overtime win over rival Boise State.
In his final season at Idaho, Tormey led the Vandals to a 28-17 victory over the Pac-10’s Washington State Cougars, the program’s first win over their neighbors since 1965.
Tormey spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Washington from 1984-94, where he coached the tight ends, outside linebackers and the secondary, and also served as defensive coordinator during the 1993-94 seasons. During his tenure as an assistant, the Huskies appeared in 10 bowl games and shared the 1991 national championship with Miami (Fla.).
A native of Omaha, Neb., Tormey grew up in Spokane where he attended Gonzaga Prep. He was later an all-Big Sky Conference linebacker at Idaho from 1976-77 during his three seasons. As a senior, he served as team captain before earning a degree in education in 1978.
It was at Idaho where Tormey played for McMackin, a relatively new collegiate coach who spent two seasons at the Palouse. McMackin coached the linebackers and served as defensive coordinator during Tormey’s playing career.
Following graduation, Tormey signed a free-agent contract with the Washington Redskins.
Tormey began his college coaching career in 1980 as a graduate assistant at Washington for two years, and then took the defensive line coaching position at Idaho in 1982 for two years under head coach Dennis Erickson.
This summer, Tormey, a veteran camp instructor, hosted the inaugural Koa Kid Football Camp on the UH campus.
Tormey and his wife, Kellie, have two daughters, Leah and Emily.
Tormey’s File
Personal
Years at UH: 2nd season
Hometown: Spokane, Wash.
Alma Mater: Idaho (1978)
Playing Experience
1975-77, Idaho
Coaching Experience
2009-, Hawai‘i, Assistant Coach (Special Teams/Secondary)
2004-08, Washington, Assistant Coach (Linebackers/Recruiting Coordinator)
2000-03, Nevada, Head Coach (Overall Record: 16-31)
1995-99, Idaho, Head Coach (Overall Record: 33-23)
1993-94, Washington, Assistant Coach (Defensive Coordinator)
1984-92, Washington, Assistant Coach (Tight Ends, Outside Linebackers, Secondary)
1982-83, Idaho, Assistant Coach (Defensive Line)
1980-81, Washington, Graduate Assistant
1978-79, Gonzaga Prep, Assistant Coach
